Brazen gang’s £5,000 haul

Burglars made off with stolen goods - including an expensive quad bike - worth more than £5,000 during a raid on a house in Thatto Heath.

Crooks slipped in through the back door of the home on Elm Road while the owners and their young children slept upstairs.

The brazen gang even parked a stolen van outside the property in which they loaded the Quadzilla bike before helping themselves to a number of other costly items, including two mountain bikes, a child’s BMX bike, a laptop computer, tools and a watch.

Police say the abandoned van was found in Kirkby a few days after the August 4 raid.

Detectives are urging anyone who has been offered similar goods secondhand to come forward.

DC Andy Passey said: “The victims are understandably distraught.

“They have suffered an intrusion into their family home and had belongings of significant value stolen, including a van which they rely on for work.”